Abstracts archive

“Truth to power”: The Civil Service and historical reinterpretations

Patrice Dutil (Toronto Metropolitan University)

Public servants at all levels of government have been instructed to review the historical interpretations their departments offer to the public. From small towns like Picton and Wilmot Township (Ont.) to cities like Montreal and Toronto, by way of federal agencies such as the Department of Canadian Heritage, Parks Canada, and the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada, the public servants have been pressed to offer advice in a tense environment where competing interpretations of history have claimed the public space.

This paper will examine a number of case study and consider the particular model of policy development adopted by the various jurisdictions.

A Time and a Place for Tiny Home Communities: a case study of Gatineau’s Village Transitiôn

Gabriel Imbeau (University of Ottawa)

Rising housing costs in Québec have led to a significant increase in homelessness. This is especially visible in Gatineau, a medium-sized municipality whose metropolitan area straddles two provinces in the National Capital Region. Following their successful formal encampment project in the winter of 2023-2024, local real-estate developer Devcore proposed to usher in a second phase to the project via the creation of a more permanent Tiny Home community. The goal of this community, dubbed Village Transitiôn, was to provide transitional housing to chronically unhoused individuals by using low-cost modified shipping containers, in partnership with the City and, to a lesser extent, the Province. Interestingly, this project was built on the same site the previous formal encampment was built on, which in turn was built on the site of an informal encampment, which itself was built next to a homeless shelter. Additionally, providing heated shelter over the winter was a key motivation for this private developer.

Our exploratory study uses a territorialisation framework to analyse the development of this Tiny Home community throughout the policy process. Using documentary analysis of press articles, municipal bylaws, and city council, executive council, and city planning committee minutes, we assess the influence of “Time” (the urgency of the winter deadline) and “Place” (spatial colocation effects) on the delivery of this public-private partnership. Our preliminary results indicate that the deadline was most important at the agenda-setting and implementation stages, while colocation effects progressively locked-in the site.

Attraction to public sector careers and public service motivation

W. Dominika Wranik (Dalhousie University)

The goal of our study is to assess whether sector careers are attractive due to the sector’s reputation and values or due to individuals motivation to serve the public? Previous research of comparative attraction to public, private, and non-for-profit employment is limited and has neglected Canada’s unique contextual circumstances. To get a clearer picture of students’ job sector preferences, we surveyed undergraduates across Nova Scotia’s universities, most of whom were studying management and administration. Using data from about 200 respondents, we measured and analyzed the impact of Public Service Motivation, work values, workplace attributes, and reputation on students’ job sector attraction. We hypothesized that higher Public Service Motivation, more favourable (perceived) reputation of public and non-profit sector organizations, and a suite of eleven job characteristics, together lead to a stronger preference and greater interest in pursuing eventual employment in the public and non-profit sectors. Moreover, we theorize that these relationships are moderated by greater value congruence i.e. closer alignment between normative values held by particular students and the values espoused by the public, non-profit, or private sectors respectively. We first use CFA to confirm the validity of our measured variables. We then test our hypotheses by estimating a series of regressions and structural models. Our paper adds new insights concerning students’ attraction to the public and non-profit sectors, and how it  relates to public service motivation, students’ normative values, the appeal of certain job characteristics, and perceived reputation of the respective sector.

Author Biographies for “The Representation of Politics and the Politics of Representation”

Beth Herst (independent researcher) , Sandford Borins (Professor Emeritus, University of Toronto)

Beth Herst received her Ph.D. in English Literature from the University of London and has worked as a university lecturer, independent scholar, and playwright. Sandford Borins is Professor Emeritus of Public Management at the University of Toronto. His research career over 40 years has focused on public sector innovation (The Persistence of Innovation in Government, 2014) and narrative and government (Governing Fables, 2011). He was founding Chair of the Department of Management, University of Toronto Scarborough (1991-2003) and President of CAPPA from 2003 to 2007. In 2025 he received the King Charles III Coronation Medal.

Building a Settler State: The Department of the Interior and Canadian Colonial Administration

Jerald Sabin (Carleton University)

.Between 1873 and 1936, federal public servants in the Canadian Department of the Interior directed the settlement of Western Canada from Ottawa. The Department’s administrative life was bookended by the creation of Canada in 1867 at one end and by the constitutional devolution of control over public lands and natural resources to the prairie provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta at the other. While the political dimensions of Western Canadian state formation are well understood, the administrative systems that both drove and supported this formation are not. This paper brings into conversation literatures on settler colonialism, North American administrative history, and Canadian constitutionalism to develop an account of Canadian colonial administration, its institutions, and practices. This paper draws upon the growing American literature on imperial/colonial administration, law, and politics. The paper argues that while the Canadian system of colonial administration was deeply influenced by the American experience of imperial expansion, its British colonial antecedents and the idiosyncrasies of a ‘pioneer public service’ placed Canadian colonial expansion on a distinct administrative path. To make this argument, the paper explores three elements of Canadian colonial policy: the political economy of eighteenth and nineteenth century British North America; the pre- and post-Confederation constitutional framework in which Western Canada was acquired and incorporated into the Canadian state; and the development of a Ministry of the Interior, whose portfolio at its height included Indian affairs, federal policing, immigration, land surveying, and natural resources.

Centres of Government: Comparative Analysis and New Research Directions

jonathan craft (University of Toronto)

Centres of government are unquestionably important to the governance of modern states.  They uniquely set and coordinate government policy agendas and perform various crucial whole-of-government functions including budgeting, decision making, communicating, and the coordination of policy and financial management. Yet, protracted debates on centralization of power in Canada and elsewhere have overshadowed other important lines of inquiry related to how centres of government undertake their work.  How are they organized, operated, and reformed – and with what consequences for effective democratic governance?  Drawing from Westminster style country cases this paper revisits traditional approaches to the study of centres of government and examines important variation and contemporary developments linked to these key critical sites of governance.

Challenges and effectiveness of horizontal programs: An evaluation perspective

Luc Juillet (University of Ottawa)

Governments continue to be confronted with complex problems requiring multifaceted responses predicated on coordination across multiple agencies. Such horizontal initiatives are challenging even under the best of circumstances, as siloed departmental structures and vertical lines of accountability create disincentives and barriers to collaboration. While research has identified key obstacles and potential solutions to interdepartmental coordination (e.g. Bardach 1998; Peters 2015; Aoki et al. 2024), we have few empirical studies examining the structure, management and performance of horizontal initiatives at the federal level in Canada.

The proposed paper would help partly address this research gap by comparing the structure and performance of recent federal horizontal initiatives. Using a template derived from the public administration literature, the paper extracts, synthesizes and compares the findings of the program evaluations of ten horizontal policy strategies in a range of fields, including climate change, ocean protection, drug addiction, industrial innovation, official languages and cybersecurity, undertaken between 2019 and 2025. Based on the findings derived from this unexplored source of data, we then consider the strengths and limitations of the Horizontal Initiatives Framework currently guiding the implementation of formal large-scale interdepartmental initiatives.

Chief Administrative Officers in Canada: Uncovering Their Unique Public Administration Skills

Eric Champagne (University of Ottawa) , Robert Blair (University of Nebraska Omaha) , Chloe Charette (University of Ottawa)

Chief Administrative Officers (CAOs), acting as city managers, city administrators, or director generals, manage complex municipal government organizations in Canada. They personify the quiet excellence of public administration, the theme of the 2026 CAPPA conference. While elected local officials dominate the public eye and civic stage; CAOs unobtrusively and efficiently supervise the provision of a range of services to their residents. CAOs are often unknown in a community. Using case study methodology, researchers at the University of Ottawa Centre on Governance collected information on the work of CAOs in municipalities in each province. Researchers examined the roles, responsibilities, and the legal framework of these “quiet” and elusive public administrators. Since Canadian CAOs have not been widely studied, this study adds to our understanding of this important public administrator. The population of the fourteen municipalities in the study range from13,000 to 568,300; with municipalities in Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs), Consolidated CMAs, suburbs, and self-standing rural areas. As expected in the Canadian confederation, where provincial laws and customs determine the nature and structure of CAOs, the researchers found that municipal government by-laws also impacted the position. Analysis of the data revealed variation but also consistency. Technical skill sets were identified, as well as softer people skills. This research also reveal the quiet excellence of CAOs contribution to the quality of life in Canadian cities.

Circulation et mise en œuvre des modèles de reddition de compte : les cadres d’impacts qualitatifs et les conseils des arts

Jonathan Paquette (jonathan.paquette@uottawa.ca) , Alexandre Schiele (Université d'Ottawa) , Benjamin Boutin (Université d'Ottawa) , Idris Bachene (Université d'Ottawa)

Depuis plus de quatre décennies maintenant, le secteur culturel tente de mettre de l’avant l’importance de sa contribution à l’économie en espérant maintenir leur soutien, voire obtenir davantage de financement des pouvoirs publics. Le bilan de l’effet de ces discours donne des constats mitigés. Depuis quelques années, de nouvelles manières de rendre compte des impacts de la culture ont émergés. Les grands organismes publics de soutien à la culture sont devenus de nouveaux des espaces pour réfléchir à de nouvelles manières de rendre compte des impacts des arts et du patrimoine. Ce panel met en relief les résultats d’une recherche CRSH développement partenariat menée en collaboration avec la Fédération culturelle canadienne-française portant sur l’élaboration et le déploiement des facteurs d’impacts qualitatifs.

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Coastal zone governance strategies for sustainability on the west coasts of Newfoundland, Canada, and Cameroon in the Gulf of Guinea: A comparative policy study 

Emmanuel Tamufor ( University of Guelph )

Abstract 

Coastal zones are increasingly vulnerable to natural and human pressures, intensified by climate change. On the west coast of Newfoundland, recent development initiatives raise concerns about environmental degradation, while Cameroon’s west coast in the Gulf of Guinea faces more acute challenges due to rapid population growth and ecological stressors. This paper compares governance strategies for sustainability in these two regions, examining how emerging environmental pressures that fragilize these coastal zones are shaping policy responses. Using qualitative research methods, including content analysis of peer‑reviewed literature, policy documents, government reports, and interviews with key informants, the study traces the evolution of coastal governance since the 1980s, with significant shifts following the 1992 Rio Earth Summit. Findings reveal that while both regions have developed strategies to address sustainability, inadequate funding constrains implementation. Compared to Newfoundland, implementation in Cameroon seems to be stagnating. The study argues that strengthened environmental governance regimes are essential to ensure that development remains within ecological limits, offering lessons for coastal sustainability in diverse contexts. 

Connected: Understanding the Distribution of Public Administration Research Networks in Canada

Jean-Francois Savard (ENAP) , Félix de la Durantaye (ENAP)

The past 15 years have seen a significant shift in the research requirements of Canadian funding agencies. Not only are we seeing increased expectations for open science, but we are also seeing more requirements and incentives for multidisciplinarity, pluridisciplinarity, and transdisciplinarity.

This presentation examines the impact of these new requirements on public administration research in Canada. More specifically, we seek to answer the following question: to what extent are the structure and configuration of public administration research networks distributed under pressure from funding agencies?We therefore seek to determine the extent to which the configuration and structure of public administration research networks are distributed, based on the hypothesis that these requirements imposed by funding agencies have encouraged the arrival of new expertise in the research fields specific to our discipline.

Based on information science tools and techniques, specifically bibliometric tools and techniques, our research will use the leading journal in our discipline in Canada, Administration Publique du Canada/Canada Public Administration, as a proxy for measuring the evolution of these networks. We do not aim to be exhaustive here. Rather, we propose to conduct exploratory research using a single proxy to determine whether our approach appears valid before extending it to other documentary sources and whether the results of the analyses promise to yield conclusions that confirm or refute our hypothesis.

Embracing miyeu wâhkôhtowin: Opening the doors for modern Métis land stewardship in Canadian Energy policy.

Erin Riccardo, Dr. Kelly Saunders, Dr. Janique Dubois (University of Ottawa)

The Red River Métis have long embodied the concept of miyeu wâhkôhtowin (good relations): a worldview of relationality centred on reciprocal obligations of tending to the well-being of all things as kin. With Canada seeking rapid energy production expansion and global market diversification, this timeless concept – guiding Métis governance, community, spirituality, and land stewardship – offers immense value to the development of new policy for collaborating with Indigenous nations and protecting their ancestral lands. This paper demonstrates an opportunity for Canada to evolve beyond passive rights-based consultation processes by embracing Indigenous Traditional Knowledge as a foundation for new collaborative nation-to-nation energy governance structures. Drawing on two case studies (the Manitoba Métis Federation’s involvement in Manitoba’s Indigenous majority-owned wind power initiative, and the Whiteshell Reactor WR-1 decommissioning project), we argue there are two streams of sustainable collaboration that integrate Métis Traditional Knowledge: ownership of energy projects as a modern manifestation of Métis traditional economies; and land stewardship through the formalization of land management roles that employ the place-based knowledge of Red River Métis community members in areas affected by energy projects. By exploring the expansion of Red River Métis ownership and stewardship of renewable energy projects in Manitoba, we assert that Reconciliation requires Indigenous self-governance to advance beyond the fight for rights recognition to achieve autonomous economic sustainability. This research contributes to critical gaps in Indigenous energy governance scholarship, which have largely overlooked the importance of policy actors, treating Métis participation as pan-Indigenous and confined solely to the consultation framework.

Everyday Innovators at City Hall: Public Sector Innovation in Municipal Governments

Zachary Spicer (York University) , Joe Lyons (Western University) , Tyler Romualdi (Western University)

Innovation in government is often portrayed through the lens of high-tech disruption, start-up culture, and private-sector mythology. Yet evidence from dozens of Canadian municipalities reveals a very different innovation story—one rooted not in digital tools, but in the quiet restructuring of routines, norms, and relationships inside public institutions. Drawing on original research and 26 practitioner-authored case studies, this paper challenges the assumption that the public sector is inherently resistant to change. Instead, it shows that local governments innovate constantly, but in forms that are slower, more collective, and less visible than tech-driven narratives suggest. Innovation emerges not from outsiders “disrupting” government, but from frontline staff reframing problems, experimenting with processes, and redesigning institutional constraints from within. Leadership matters—not as heroic vision, but as the creation of psychological safety, risk tolerance, and time for experimentation. The findings demonstrate that meaningful public-sector innovation is less about technology adoption and more about shifting culture, governance structures, and accountability relationships. The paper concludes by arguing that local governments do not lack innovation capacity; they lack recognition and resourcing for the innovation already underway. Reframing innovation as institutional problem-solving rather than product design has significant implications for how we train public administrators, evaluate success, structure intergovernmental support, and design policy environments that reward learning rather than perfection.

Exploring Canadian Incorporation by Reference: Usage Trends, Influencing Factors, and Government and Standard-Setting Body Decision-Making Processes

Benjamin Faveri (Carleton University)

Incorporation by reference (IbR) allows regulators to make public and private standards legally binding without reproducing their text by referencing them into legislation or regulation. This referencing blends public authority with private technical expertise, raising some important questions about democratic oversight and regulatory capture. Canada has used IbR 1,430 times from 1949 to 2024, yet little attention has been given to Canadian IbR. This thesis provides an initial exploration of Canadian IbR usage trends, possible influencing factors, and how government and standard-setting bodies think about, use, and engage in the IbR decision-making process. These explorations are carried out through the creation of a novel dataset of Canadian IbR instances, IbR policy analyses, and 10 semi-structured interviews with senior government and standard-setting officials who have each worked on IbR. The findings illustrate that IbR usage shifted from periodic spikes to more consistent yearly usage after 2015, when most of the identified IbR policy efforts began appearing. Five departments accounted for about 60% of all IbR use and five standard-setting bodies developed approximately 60% of all referenced standards, evidencing concentration and potential path dependence in Canadian IbR usage. Governments and standard-setting bodies tended to view IbR the same way, to reduce administrative burdens, benefit from external expertise and convening power, and improve international trade and competitiveness. IbR streamlines rulemaking and fosters regulatory alignment but amplifies concerns over accessibility, democratic accountability, and capture. Future research ought to explore these concerns.

From Compliance to Change: Examining the Effectiveness of Accountability Frameworks in Driving DEI Outcomes for Racialized Immigrant Employees in the Canadian Public Sector

Zuby Ain Sohail (Dalhousie University)

This doctoral work-in-progress investigates the critical gap between policy intent and measurable impact regarding Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) for racialized immigrant employees within the Canadian public sector. Despite decades of commitment to employment equity and anti-racism, systemic inequities persist, suggesting current governance mechanisms are insufficient or are being implemented ineffectively. This research asks: How effectively do existing accountability frameworks in Canadian public sector organizations translate DEI policies into meaningful, equitable outcomes for racialized immigrant staff, and what are the primary organizational barriers to their success? Drawing upon critical management studies and public administration theory, the proposed study adopts a qualitative methodology centered on organizational case studies. Data will be collected through in-depth policy analysis, document review (e.g., annual reports, accountability agreements), and semi-structured interviews with senior leaders and frontline HR personnel who are responsible for policy implementation. The research focuses specifically on accountability mechanisms—the tools and systems used to measure and enforce DEI goals—to understand their design, operationalization, and impact. Findings are expected to yield evidence-based insights and recommendations for Canadian public policy-makers and administrators on redesigning accountability systems to move beyond symbolic compliance toward authentic, measurable, and sustainable inclusion for one of Canada’s most vital and diverse populations.

Innovation, acceptabilité sociale et transition énergétique

Louis Simard (Université d\'Ottawa)

La contribution vise à présenter une étude de cas qui se caractérise par l’innovation mise de l’avant grâce à l’apprentissage organisationnel.  Le cas de la ligne d’interconnexion Hertel – New York de la société d’État Hydro-Québec nous permet d’apprécier un double changement dans la manière de concevoir et de mettre en oeuvre ses grands projets. L’impératif de la transition énergétique et la crise des changements climatiques d’un côté et les exigences politiques et sociales actuelles pour les grands projets qui se traduisent par l’acceptabilité sociale comme nouvelle norme d’action publique de l’autre favorisent des innovations significatives. Le partenariat avec les communautés autochtones et la réduction des impacts sur l’environnement des infrastructures de transport de l’électricité apparaissent comme des solutions prometteuses.  Le partage de la propriété de la Ligne Hertel – New York et son enfouissement témoigne d’un changement paradigme qui découle de plusieurs décennies d’apprentissage organisationnel.

Is the Same Old Talk Enough Anymore? Monetary Policy Communications in the Age of the Polycrisis

Marc-Andre Pigeon (University of Saskatchewan)

In the early 1990s, the Bank of Canada began to emerge from the shadows, shedding the secretive practices that had long characterized its (and other central bank) communications practices; spawned best-selling books with titles like “Secrets of the Temple” in the United States; and created the conditions for politicization. Over time, the Bank of Canada (BoC) became a leader in modernizing its communication practices, publishing ever-increasing amounts of information about its inflation target while engaging in active listening to a variety of voices, not just academics. Anchored in the “expectations” model of inflation, the BoC began to see its communications practices as core to its mandate: if people believed inflation would anchor around 2%, behaviour would follow in the form of contract negotiations, pricing, and financial returns. It seemed to work: inflation hovered around the target, monetary policy politicization became taboo, and central bank independence was celebrated as good macro-economic management.  But recent supply chain disruptions, bouts of inflation, geopolitical turmoil, accelerating climate change, and renewed politicization have raised questions about the effectiveness of the old ‘talk’ strategy. In this paper, we document and critically examine the Bank of Canada’s evolving communications practices by embedding the concepts of input and output legitimacy and policy conventions  in a cybernetics framework. We argue that without a stable macro-economic context, the continued use of the same ‘talk’ strategies will provoke a new round of politicization and crisis.

L’innovation en fiscalité municipale: la fabrique des décisions locales au Québec

Tommy Gagné-Dubé (Université de Sherbrooke)

Les réformes du cadre fiscal municipal de 2017 et 2023 ont profondément modifié le cadre d’action des municipalités québécoises. Alors que la loi définissait auparavant ce que les municipalités pouvaient taxer, elle prévoit désormais ce qu’elles ne peuvent pas taxer, ouvrant ainsi un espace inédit pour l’innovation fiscale et la diversification des sources de revenus. Cette transformation soulève une question centrale : comment les acteurs municipaux s’approprient-ils cette marge de manœuvre pour élaborer leurs politiques fiscales et répondre aux pressions financières croissantes?
Cette communication s’appuie sur une approche qualitative et inductive fondée sur plus de soixante entrevues semi-dirigées auprès d’élus et d’administrateurs municipaux. L’analyse thématique des données met en lumière les perceptions des acteurs, les dynamiques relationnelles et les contraintes institutionnelles qui façonnent les décisions fiscales. Une attention particulière est portée à l’identification des acteurs clés et à la nature des liens qui les unissent, afin de comprendre les configurations décisionnelles locales et leurs effets sur l’innovation fiscale.
Sur le plan théorique, le projet s’inscrit dans la sociologie de l’impôt et l’ethnographie institutionnelle, en rupture avec les approches technicistes dominantes dans le champ de la fiscalité locale. Il propose une lecture interprétative de la politique fiscale municipale comme pratique sociale, contribuant à combler une lacune importante dans les études québécoises et à éclairer les enjeux de gouvernance multiniveaux.

Learning from the Gaps: Embedding Anti-Racism in Ontario Public Service Workforce Policies

Maria Gintova (McMaster University) , Tuqa Al-Rammahi (McMaster University)

Public services across Canada have a long-standing practice of incorporating principles of equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) into their workplace policies. More recently, these efforts have been supplemented by anti-racism initiatives aimed at addressing systemic racism within public service structures and practices. This paper examines one such case in Ontario, where the Ontario Public Service (OPS) articulates a renewed vision for its workforce. The OPS People Plan expresses this vision by committing to “an equitable organization that is inclusive, anti-racist, accessible, diverse, respectful, and free from workplace harassment and discrimination, and that supports well-being.” 

In examining Ontario’s commitment to EDI and anti-racism, this paper also compares the OPS approach with the United States, where the application of critical race theory (CRT) principles in workforce policies has become politically restricted. While several U.S. states have prohibited CRT-informed training, data collection, and workforce equity initiatives, Ontario has normalized race-based data collection, anti-racism action plans, and self-reporting on progress. 

Grounded in critical race theory, this study draws on qualitative interviews with Black and Indigenous Ontario public servants, complemented by an analysis of OPS workplace policies aimed at advancing EDI and anti-racism. The findings reveal that, despite Ontario’s efforts, significant implementation gaps persist. We also identify changes needed in Ontario’s current approach from the perspectives of Indigenous and Black public servants. Finally, our analysis demonstrates that addressing institutional racism alongside individual-level racism can strengthen OPS organizational capacity and better position it to meet the challenges of the digital era.

Measuring the cost-effectiveness of income-tested in-kind benefits on material well-being: The Canadian Dental Care Program

Geranda Notten (Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, University of Ottawa)

Rich countries increasingly rely on income-testing and their income-tax system as part of their efforts to target both cash and in-kind transfers to recipients. Measuring the effectiveness of in-kind transfers is challenging because the metric used to determine eligibility (income) may not or only partially capture the program’s effect as in-kind transfers reduce the need to spend rather than increase their income. This research provides important insights for policymakers by demonstrating material well-being effects that are missed entirely or are misestimated by income indicators. This research measures the effects of the Canadian Dental Care Program (CDCP) on material well-being using a material deprivation scale that captures (changes in) material outcomes. The CDCP partially covers dental care costs of households with an income below $90,000 who have no dental care coverage. Canada’s dental care program was rolled out gradually and initially focused on seniors (Government of Canada, n.d.-b). The research uses nationally representative microdata on material deprivation, household income, and other respondent and household characteristics collected annually in the spring between 2023 and 2025. The treatment group are senior respondents aged 65 and up and the control group are working age respondents aged 25-64 not living with children under the age of 18. Using a difference-in-difference estimator, three effects are estimated, namely changes in material deprivation status, the number of deprivations, and the dental deprivation item status. Findings: This is ongoing research. Descriptive statistics show considerably stronger improvements in material well-being of seniors compared to other age groups.

Ontologies in Tension: Indigenous Evaluation and Incorporating Community-Based Knowledge

Robert Shepherd (Carleton University)

The growing demand for evaluation reflects the interaction of institutional mandates, societal expectations, and evolving methodological paradigms. Treasury Board requirements and Auditor General reports have been key drivers shaping policy-maker demand for evaluative evidence, especially in areas involving Indigenous communities. Public expectations for accountability, ethical conduct, and demonstrable results further reinforce evaluation’s governance role (Mayne, 2010; Parkhurst, 2017; Shepherd & Graham, 2020). Enhancing evaluation’s utility requires not only methodological rigour but also advisory forms that strengthen legitimacy and contextual relevance. Community validation processes and acceptance of community-based evaluation practices contribute to more robust and politically resonant findings (Smith, 2012; Johnson et al., 2021).

Values and political ideas shape evaluation’s objectives, processes, and outcomes. Power asymmetries held by funders and commissioners influence methodological choices and even whether evaluations occur, highlighting the political nature of evidence production (Chelimsky, 2009). Evaluators, therefore, require competencies beyond technical expertise. Reflexivity regarding ontological assumptions, cultural grounding, and alignment with respondent worldviews is crucial, especially where Indigenous sovereignty, relational accountability, and community knowledge systems guide meaning-making (Kirkness & Barnhardt, 2001; Maddox et al., 2021).

Although the institutionalisation of evaluation has increased, its influence remains uneven across policy fields. Bureaucratic entrenchment can reinforce methodological orthodoxy aligned with dominant administrative worldviews, constraining innovation. Policy areas involving social programs, Indigenous governance, and community development show how contextually grounded approaches can enhance evaluation uptake (Head, 2016; Greene, 2015). This paper examines these dynamics through case studies to illustrate how institutional, political, and epistemological factors shape Indigenous evaluation.

Performance institutionnelle et attractivité des investissements directs étrangers au Maroc

Ikram Ezhrauan (Doctorat en administration publique, Université d’Ottawa) , Aissam Boudrouz (Doctorat en sciences économiques, Université Cadi Ayyad)

La qualité de la gouvernance constitue aujourd’hui un facteur déterminant dans l’équation de l’attractivité des investissements directs étrangers (IDE). Des institutions efficaces, transparentes et stables renforcent la confiance des investisseurs et influencent directement leurs décisions d’implantation. Dans ce contexte, cette étude propose d’analyser l’impact de la qualité institutionnelle sur l’évolution des IDE au Maroc. 

L’objectif central est d’examiner dans quelle mesure les différentes dimensions de la gouvernance à savoir l’efficacité gouvernementale, la stabilité politique et le contrôle de la corruption, telles que mesurées par les indicateurs du Worldwide Governance Indicators (WGI), contribuent à renforcer ou à limiter l’attractivité du pays. L’étude cherche ainsi à identifier les composantes institutionnelles les plus déterminantes pour les investisseurs et à distinguer leurs effets à court et à long terme. 

Au niveau de la méthodologie, cette recherche repose sur l’analyse de séries temporelles couvrant plus de vingt ans. Selon la structure des séries, différents modèles économétriques seront envisagés : VAR pour les séries stationnaires, VECM en cas de co-intégration, ou encore ARDL si les séries présentent des ordres d’intégration mixtes.

Les résultats attendus suggèrent que des institutions plus solides, en particulier la stabilité politique, le contrôle de la corruption et l’efficacité gouvernementale, exercent un effet positif et durable sur la capacité du Maroc à attirer les IDE.

Performance institutionnelle et attractivité des investissements directs étrangers au Maroc

Ikram Ezhrauan (Doctorat en administration publique, Université d’Ottawa) , Aissam Boudrouz (Doctorat en sciences économiques, Université Cadi Ayyad)

La qualité de la gouvernance constitue aujourd’hui un facteur déterminant dans l’équation de l’attractivité des investissements directs étrangers (IDE). Des institutions efficaces, transparentes et stables renforcent la confiance des investisseurs et influencent directement leurs décisions d’implantation. Dans ce contexte, cette étude propose d’analyser l’impact de la qualité institutionnelle sur l’évolution des IDE au Maroc. 

L’objectif central est d’examiner dans quelle mesure les différentes dimensions de la gouvernance à savoir l’efficacité gouvernementale, la stabilité politique et le contrôle de la corruption, telles que mesurées par les indicateurs du Worldwide Governance Indicators (WGI), contribuent à renforcer ou à limiter l’attractivité du pays. L’étude cherche ainsi à identifier les composantes institutionnelles les plus déterminantes pour les investisseurs et à distinguer leurs effets à court et à long terme. 

Au niveau de la méthodologie, cette recherche repose sur l’analyse de séries temporelles couvrant plus de vingt ans. Selon la structure des séries, différents modèles économétriques seront envisagés : VAR pour les séries stationnaires, VECM en cas de co-intégration, ou encore ARDL si les séries présentent des ordres d’intégration mixtes.

Les résultats attendus suggèrent que des institutions plus solides, en particulier la stabilité politique, le contrôle de la corruption et l’efficacité gouvernementale, exercent un effet positif et durable sur la capacité du Maroc à attirer les IDE.

Populism, Partisan Identity and the Bureaucracy

Christopher A. Cooper (University of Ottawa)

The 21st century has witnessed a stark rise of populist ideology and political leaders. An essential feature of populism is that the bureaucracy—which inescapably elected governments must rely upon to govern—cannot be trusted (Bauer and Becker, 2020); bureaucrats, populists contend, are not impartial officials, but rather have their own partisan-bent. Specifically, in Canada, populists have voiced concerns that the federal bureaucracy is made-up of Liberal partisans. While impartiality is a core tenet of Canada’s bureaucracy, as private citizens, there are good reasons to believe that Canada’s federal bureaucrats likely have well-developed political opinions including their own partisan identity. Yet presently, no research in political science or public administration (Canadian or elsewhere) have investigated the partisan identity of public servants. Using survey data in Canada, this paper investigates the personal partisan identity of public servants working for the national, subnational and municipal levels of government as well as citizens working in the private and non-profit sectors. The results from ANOVA and OLS regression show that the partisan identity of national public servants is indeed substantively different than the partisan composition found within the citizenry. The findings raise important questions about the bureaucracy, impartiality, partisanship and democracy in the 21^st century.

Réforme budgétaire en mode programme en Afrique francophone: entre mythes rationnels et logiques institutionnelles contradictoires

Samuel Batumike Kabagale & Éric Champagne (Centre d'Études en Gouvernance/ Université d'Ottawa)

Les réformes budgétaires (RB) adoptées en Afrique francophone dans une dynamique d’ajustement structurel ont véhiculé des mythes rationnels, mais aussi, des logiques controversées et contradictoires, révélant la tension entre prescriptions internationales et réalités locales. La bascule d’un budget des moyens vers le budget par programme (BP) dans un contexte de non-institutionnalisation de l’évaluation fait partie de ces logiques contradictoires, cristallisant la controverse autour de sa pertinence et de son opérationnalité.

Ainsi, le niveau d’institutionnalisation de l’évaluation a-t-il influencé la bascule d’une budgétisation des moyens vers une BP en Afrique francophone? La transposition de la LOLF française dans ces pays sans qu’ils aient développé une culture évaluative robuste semble avoir entrainé une bascule incomplète et désintégrée. Même lorsque cette bascule semble formellement aboutie, elle favorise moins une institutionnalisation durable de la démarche de performance.

Cette étude vise à comprendre la place de l’évaluation dans le processus de réforme BP, en mettant en exergue les défis rencontrés par les pays d’Afrique francophones. Dans une perspective comparative, elle s’appuie sur les cas du Sénégal et de la RD Congo, dont le choix est justifié par leur modèle de réforme des finances publiques. Elle analyse à la fois leur niveau d’institutionnalisation de l’évaluation et de maturité de la BP, sur base de leurs lois, rapports budgétaires/ évaluations, rapports PEFA, etc.

À travers cette étude, nous contribuons à l’actualisation des connaissances empiriques sur les réformes BP en Afrique et faisons émerger une réflexion sur les conditions nécessaires à l’institutionnalisation de la BP.

Regional and National AI Strategies: A Vertical and Horizontal Policy (In)coherence Analysis and Implications for Future AI Policy Efforts

Benjamin Faveri (Carleton University) , Brie Bhasin (University of Ottawa)

Policy coherence is often looked at within one nation between each level of government and is favoured over incoherence as it can provide better services from firms and governments, simpler operational landscapes for firms, and consistent expectations of those services for people within that nation. Conversely, policy incoherence can lead to increased competition between firms or governments, leading to an arms-race dynamic that can also be beneficial for consumers. In the AI field, policy coherence across nations (horizontal policy coherence) and between regions and the nations within them (vertical policy coherence) can offer simpler operating landscapes for firms and governments. Nations and regions have been publishing their AI strategies since 2017. As these and other nations and regions navigate an increasingly complex AI policy, governance, and legal landscape, policy designers tasked with developing and responding to AI policy need a comprehensive understanding of what policy design elements these AI strategies contain, if they are becoming more or less (in)coherent, and when and where that (in)coherence is occurring. Gaining this understanding allows policy designers to accurately develop and respond to ongoing AI policy efforts, avoid policy conflicts with other countries within their regions, and provide a consistent policy landscape for improved government and firm operations. This research advances the policy coherence literature by mixing policy design theory and vertical and horizontal policy coherence analysis and provides policy designers a comprehensive understanding of all AI strategies as they design new or update existing AI strategies.

Rethinking Alternative Service Delivery in the Age of New Public Governance: Agencies Mediating Transboundary Networks in Canada’s Innovation Policy Delivery

Charles Conteh (Brock University)

The proposed paper aims to reconceptualize alternative service delivery (ASD) mechanisms in the context of the current era of New Public Governance (NPG). We argue that ASDs can no longer be understood through the market-based orientation and managerialist lens of NPM prevalent in the 1980s and 1990s. Instead, they are best viewed as instruments for deploying collaborative governance to facilitate responsive, adaptive and network-based mechanisms of public value co-creation. These transformations are necessitated by the increasing complexity and turbulence of most policy issues in the twenty-first century. The rationale for their deployment has thus undergone a fundamental shift informed by governance-based logics rooted in principles of relational contracting and the facilitation of fluid networks in program and service delivery.  Yet, the scholarly literature has not caught up with conceptualizing these modern manifestations of ASDs within the context of the twenty-first-century policy environments.

We examine the delivery of Canada’s agrifood innovation policy by agencies created and funded by the federal government. These organizations serve as autonomous intermediary platforms, delivering their programs and services through joint ventures with industry and a plethora of innovation ecosystem stakeholders. Drawing insights from the collaborative governance and network governance literature, this paper aims to reconceptualize the mandates and activities of Canada’s agrifood innovation policy delivery agencies, illustrating the emergent practices of ASDs. We will conclude with general observations about ASDs as instruments for enhancing the legitimacy and capacity of semi-autonomous entities to engage in complex and fluid network-based arrangements within their policy delivery ecosystems.

Rethinking Local Government Policy Memos

Kennedy Stewart (SFU School of Public Policy)

Public policy at all levels of government is driven by written memoranda. Academic literature outlines the components of an ideal policy memo and emphasizes the need to place problem-solving at the centre of these documents. Declassified materials suggest that federal and provincial memos are generally problem-centred and contain many of the ideal components recommended by scholars. However, many local government policy memos deviate from this academic ideal and often focus on implementation rather than problem-solving. This difference is partly due to the absence of federal and provincial-style confidentiality rules at the local government level which protect frank assessments of policy problems and possible solutions from immediate public scrutiny. It is also due to the training and guidance local government officials receive. This paper compares academic advice, declassified federal and provincial memos, and local government reports to further examine these observations and to offer suggestions for improving the policy advice provided to local government officials.

Small Experiment, Big Impact: Reinventing Teaching and Assessment of CAPPA Competencies in Public Administration Education

Michelle Bussière-Prytula (Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy, University of Saskatchewan)

Public administration programs are increasingly expected to demonstrate how graduates acquire the competencies needed for success in a rapidly changing public sector, as articulated in CAPPA’s accreditation standards. Yet conventional grading systems often provide limited insight into students’ progress toward competency-based outcomes or the practical skills essential to effective public service. This attention to incremental learning echoes CAPPA’s conference theme by highlighting how small, steady forms of development contribute to resilient and effective public service.

This presentation reports on an instructor-led pilot within the Master of Public Administration program at the Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy (University of Saskatchewan), where competency-based instruction and assessment were introduced and iteratively refined. Research across multiple course iterations shows that combining traditional grades with a mastery-based competency gradebook provides clearer evidence of competency acquisition, reveals learning gaps obscured in conventional grading, and generates richer feedback for students. Qualitative responses from students and faculty highlight greater clarity about expectations, stronger alignment between coursework and professional skills, and increased visibility of incremental learning. For instructors, the model requires minimal onboarding and offers practical support for adopting and improving competency-based assessment practices.

Using small-scale experimentation and drawing on empirical insights and practical design strategies, the session will outline both the successes and challenges encountered in implementing competency-based instruction and assessment across in-person and online courses, as well as future directions for preparing students for success in the rapidly changing public sector.

Teaching Lean Public Service: Embedding Functional Review and Continuous Improvement in Public Administration Education

Olha Zahvoiska (Institute of Public Affairs Jagiellonian University)

This paper examines how Lean thinking, functional review and continuous improvement can be embedded in public administration education to prepare public servants as guardians of “quiet excellence”. While many MPA and MPP programs train students to manage crises and reforms, they devote less attention to routine processes that sustain trust and fairness in public services. The paper presents a pedagogical model of “teaching Lean public service”. In this model, students conduct mini functional reviews in public organizations such as ministries, municipalities and universities. Using Lean tools such as process and value stream mapping, waste analysis and PDCA cycles, they identify bottlenecks, co-design improvements with frontline staff and reflect on trade-offs between efficiency, equity and transparency. The model also foregrounds the responsible use of AI in the public sector. Students critically assess whether their organizations behave as frontier builders, infrastructure builders or users of AI, and whether this is the right role today. AI is treated as an enabler of continuous improvement (for example via data analysis and process optimisation) and as a source of risk for transparency, accountability and citizen trust. The paper offers three contributions: a rationale for integrating Lean, functional review and AI literacy into public administration curricula; a transferable course and assignment design; and lessons on how project-based learning can reshape students’ professional identity, encouraging them to see themselves not only as crisis problem-solvers but as stewards of public value in administrative practice.

The adaptation and everyday excellence of municipalities using the Environmental Registry of Ontario

Christina Bouchard (University of Ottawa)

Starting in 1994, Ontario’s Environmental Registry (ERO) was one of the first digital public consultation platforms used at a large scale (Daniels, 2018; Richardson & Razzaque 2011). The provincially administered platform receives feedback from citizens and municipalities and has come to play a unique role in municipal-provincial relations (Hersey, 2009; Lindgren & Dunn, 2010; Spicer 2016). To explore how Ontario’s front-line governments use the ERO, interviews were undertaken with 25 municipal planners. From their respective jurisdictions, these administrators have been responding to sweeping deregulatory reforms enacted by the Province of Ontario.

In contrast to studies of multilevel governance which have emphasized the coordination of actors within a policy process (Good, 2009; Horak 2024; Young, 2006), this research focuses on the significance of municipal practices (Lucas & Smith, 2019 p.274). Between 2018-2025, provincial ERO postings corresponding to deregulatory legislation have been frequent, rapid, complex, and sometimes compounding. Despite these challenging circumstances, municipalities continued to engage the ERO, developing a variety of strategies to respond.

The findings from the interviews are discussed in two parts 1) how the scale of municipalities elicited different adaptations to the province’s consultation instrument (Lascomes & Galès, 2005) and 2) the significance of municipal pragmatism in the enactment of democratic values (Good 2009, 2019; Magnusson, 2015). The routines and small, everyday discretionary actions (Lipskey, 2018; Biggar & Siemiatycki 2023) of those interviewed provide a micro-analysis of how municipal planners and their councils together seek to enact democratic and multi-level governance.

The Connection Between Inclusivity and Employee Engagement in the Ontario Public Service

Jocelyn McGrandle (Columbia College) , Frank Ohemeng (Concordia University)

Public sector organizations have long sought to increase workforce diversity. As many such countries have succeeded in diversifying their public services, recent years have moved beyond policies and programs designed to simply recruit diverse candidates into discussions of how to make now quite diversified workforces more inclusive. Inclusion is viewed not only as the right thing to do from a moral perspective, but also a way to increase employee engagement. This research seeks to add to the existing literature by examining the Ontario Public Service as a case study, and by combining two established fields of literature using theories of inclusivity (optimal distinctiveness theory and social identity theory) and theories of employee engagement (basic needs satisfaction). Public service studies in Canada, particularly at the provincial level, are quite limited in their examinations of diversity and inclusion. Ontario is home to Canada’s largest provincial public service and has made diversity and inclusion a cornerstone of their public service for the last decade. Using data from the Ontario Public Service (OPS) Employee Survey, this study will examine how public servants perceive diversity and inclusion within the OPS and how those perceptions shape employee engagement.

The Ecosystems for Community Research and Recordkeeping Project

Shawna Ferris (Women's and Gender Studies, University of Manitoba) , Andrea Rounce (Political Science, University of Manitoba) , Danielle Allard (School of Library and Information Studies, University of Alberta) , Amy Lebovitch (Sex Professionals of Canada; Canadian Alliance for Sex Work Law Reform)

There are growing calls across universities and archives for engaged and sustained inclusion of extremely marginalized communities in the research and recordkeeping that are both about them and deeply impactful to them. Despite this, there remain significant obstacles to their full participation in these interconnected knowledge institutions. The Ecosystems for Community Research and Recordkeeping (ECRR) project is an interdisciplinary community-driven research initiative that works with extremely marginalized communities such as sex workers, people who use drugs, groups identified as “key communities” for HIV/AIDS research, (im)migrant women escaping violence, and Indigenous nations and communities, to examine how research and archival practices, protocols, policies, and systems should evolve when we require, as per current Tri-Council directives, their meaningful involvement in the research and recordkeeping practices that most directly affect the policies, supports and legislation that shape their lives, work, health, and/or well-being. ECRR aims to 1) deepen understanding of how institutional structures, academic and archival cultures, and beliefs about marginalised communities work together to exclude marginalized communities from traditional research and recordkeeping; 2) use community-driven research methods to envision institutional ecosystems where community-driven research and recordkeeping can thrive; and, 3) co-design inclusive social justice-oriented policies, practices, and educational interventions at knowledge institutions and in our governing bodies to reform research and recordkeeping in the service of supporting communities and their meaningful engagement in these spheres.

As we launch ECRR, we are keen to hear from CAPPA audiences to refine methods and strategies for policy change and innovation.

The Representation of Politics and the Politics of Representation

Sandford Borins (Professor of Public Management Emeritus, University of Toronto) , Beth Herst (independent researcher)

This presentation introduces a new book by Beth Herst and Sandford Borins, Public Representations: Screen Stories, Narrative, and the Public Sphere, to be published by University of Toronto Press in spring 2026. Public Representations explores the reciprocal relationship between recent screen representations of politics and contemporary political culture in the U.S. and U.K. between 2010 and 2020 and in Canada from 1960 to the present.

The presentation will discuss what we consider to be the ten most controversial films analyzed in Public Representations. They are (by country): Selma, Lincoln, Zero Dark Thirty, Standard Operating Procedure (U.S.); Darkest Hour, Dunkirk, The Falklands Play (U.K.); and Les Rose, Prairie Giant, Les Ordres (Canada). For each film in the set, we explore the sources of controversy, contending parties, outcome of the controversy, and political and policy implications of the controversy. We draw some broader conclusions from the entire set.

Conceptually, our research draws on a variety of approaches including political psychology, media studies, and feminist theory. For each film, we have analyzed a rich variety of paratexts including online and legacy media reviews, interviews with creators, news reports and feature coverage, and fan discussion, as well as metrics such as production budgets, box office data, and awards.

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Toxic or Thriving? Exploring Organizational Environments in Canadian and Swiss Schools of Management

Isabelle Caron (Dalhousie University) , Guillaume Revillod (École nationale d'administration publique (ENAP)) , Nancy Duc (Institut des hautes études en administration publique (UNIL)) , Samuel Pacht (Institut des hautes études en administration publique (UNIL)) , David Giauque (Institut des hautes études en administration publique (UNIL))

Recent controversies about toxic work environments and deteriorating labour relations in Canadian universities – from reports of toxicity at UQAC to tense disputes at Dalhousie – show how quickly trust, well-being, and institutional reputation can be damaged. In a context of mounting financial pressures where faculty are asked to do more with fewer resources, understanding the conditions that foster or mitigate toxic features in organizational environments is timely and essential.

This exploratory project examines how faculty in management schools in Canada and Switzerland perceive their organizational environments, with particular attention to toxic and supportive features. Anchored in the Job Demands–Resources (JD-R) model, we focus on a parsimonious set of dimensions drawn from validated scales: toxic leadership, toxic environment, organizational politics, organizational dehumanization, and key job characteristics, including workload, time pressure, and work–life balance. We link these perceived conditions to core outcomes that matter for public and higher education institutions in both systems: intention to stay or leave, work engagement, job satisfaction, and self-reported well-being.

Data will be collected through a brief bilingual (English/French) online survey administered to professors in management departments, including public administration programs, in both countries. The paper will present descriptive findings and comparative analyses (Canada–Switzerland) to identify patterns of organizational environments associated with more “mutual gains” or more “conflicting outcomes” for faculty and institutions, and discuss implications for leaders seeking to prevent trajectories toward toxicity and foster sustainable academic workplaces.

Why public health is like central banks: the case for an independent public health function

Patrick Fafard (GSPIA, University of Ottawa)

The conventional public health governance model for many countries, developed in the 20^th century, grants public health experts employed by governments significant autonomy to make key decisions on how best to respond to public threats, whether large or small. The COVID-19 pandemic, the decline in public trust in expert authority, and the rise of populist politics have fundamentally challenged this model. The autonomy of public health authorities has been diminished to varying degrees, most notably in the United States, but also in Canada and in Europe. Is this nothing more than a rebalancing of authority away from unelected and unaccountable experts in favour of politicians? In short, no, because public health has more in common with central banking, an area generally understood to be best kept at a distance from those we elect. Drawing on work in political theory, philosophy of science, and public administration, this paper argues in favour of an autonomous public health function. The first section provides an overview of the conventional model and the rationale for autonomous public health institutions. The second section provides a rationale for granting public health officials independent authority to advise and make decisions regarding the management of health threats. The final section addresses the challenging question of who has the authority to make binding regulatory decisions in a public health emergency, such as a pandemic.

Advancing Renewable Energy Co-operatives: A Provincial Policy Index for Canada

Josie Ward (University of Saskatchewan) , Marc-André Pigeon (University of Saskatchewan) , Martin Boucher (NorQuest College)

The integration of community energy within the broader renewable energy transition is gaining traction among provincial governments in Canada. Renewable energy co-operatives (RECs) have the potential to accelerate renewable energy adoption by fostering local ownership, democratizing energy systems, and increasing community resilience. However, the policies and regulations that govern RECs vary significantly across provinces, shaping both opportunities and barriers for sector growth. This study develops a Renewable Energy Co-operative Policy Index to systematically evaluate how provincial policies, and regulatory frameworks impact the development of RECs. Motivated by the importance of policy indicators in Kingdon’s Multiple Streams Approach, we developed the index to serve as a tool for influencing policy by presenting data, identifying barriers, and guiding the development of policy solutions. The index—developed through a synthesis of existing REC research, practitioner insights from a national workshop, and desk research—consists of three key dimensions: renewable energy landscape, community energy access, and community energy finance. Applying the index across all Canadian provinces, we find a highly uneven policy landscape, with significant variability in provincial support and a clear divide between the highest and lowest-scoring provinces. By identifying the strengths and weaknesses of provincial regulatory environments, this research provides a roadmap for policymakers to strengthen the sector and contributes to broader discussions on the policy and financial mechanisms needed to scale community-led renewable energy initiatives.

Banking Without Banks: Policy Implications of Banking-as-a-Service in Canada

Rafael Morales-Guzman (Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy, University of Saskatchewan)

In recent years, scholars and leading policymaking institutions (e.g., Bank of England; Bank for International Settlement) have shifted their understanding of banking and money away from a simple financial intermediation model towards a recognition that in modern market economies, the banking sector is the major “place” where new monetary units are created. This study examines regulatory challenges posed by Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) in Canada’s fintech ecosystem, particularly in the areas of accountability, consumer protection, and oversight. It shows how the burgeoning BaaS sector decouples customer-facing services from balance sheets, allowing BaaS entities to indirectly engage in money creation without the oversight normally accorded to deposit-taking and loan-making banking institutions and, in so doing, prying open a long-standing and “inextricable confusion” in regulatory authority over banking in Canada. To enrich the analysis, the study also considers how similar jurisdictions have integrated BaaS into their regulatory frameworks. Drawing on these findings, it advocates for a functional regulatory approach that prioritizes systemic impact, joint liability mechanisms, and enhanced federal-provincial coordination to balance financial stability with BaaS innovation while addressing the fundamental regulatory gap created when banking functions operate outside traditional structures.

Biodiversity Conservation Policy Reform and Reconciliation in Canada: An analysis of the Pathway to Canada Target 1 through the policy cycle model

Tamufor N. Emmanuel (University of Guelph) , Roth Robin (University of Guelph) , MacDonald David (University of Guelph)

In this article, we analyze the Pathway to Canada Target 1 biodiversity conservation policy process to determine its inclusivity towards Indigenous Peoples and their knowledge systems. The policy focuses on Target 1 of Canada’s efforts to meet Aichi Target 11 of the Convention on Biological Diversity by 2020. The study highlights the importance of Indigenous involvement in the policy process. Merely including Indigenous actors does not guarantee that their knowledge contributions were considered. Understanding why, when, and how Indigenous Peoples were engaged in the policy process helps us see the role their contributions played in co-producing policy knowledge for the Pathway to Canada Target 1 policy process. This is fundamental for reconciliation and improving conservation policies. After reviewing the Pathway’s history and structure, emphasizing the importance of building relationships with Indigenous Peoples early in the policy process, we use the policy cycle model to analyze the process’ five stages. Although the policy cycle model is a Western framework that inadequately reflects Indigenous worldviews, its use reveals the degree of Indigenous engagement in each stage. This engagement is potentially reflective of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) Calls to Action. We conclude with recommendations for more collaborative governance in policymaking, advocating for the inclusion of Indigenous Peoples and their knowledge systems at all stages of the policy cycle.

Canadian megaproject governance and planning culture: The case of Ottawa’s light rail expansion program

Hannah Rebentisch (McGill University)

As governments across Canada increase investments in sustainable infrastructure, comparative research is necessary to recognize systemic constraints and identify means for improvement. This article examines the way in which structural factors specific to the Canadian and Ontario context, such as multilevel governance, funding, and procurement practices, shaped Ottawa’s Line 1 rail project and its outcomes. Launched in 2019, the project was a flash point in local politics and became the subject of a nationwide media frenzy and ultimately a damning provincial inquiry. While the provincial inquiry revealed obstacles at institutional and higher levels, it nonetheless failed to recognize and indeed reinforced problematic assumptions and practices specific to the Canadian context. Using Ottawa’s rail expansion program as a case study to investigate the political, regulatory, and professional factors that scaffold infrastructure projects, this paper contributes to the transportation policy, megaprojects, and planning cultures literature and is an early intervention in characterizing the Canadian approach to megaproject management. We argue that Canadian megaproject management can be characterized by: privatized planning processes and reliance upon consultants for key duties of government; lack of state capacity and expertise for effective oversight of contractors; weak and convoluted governance structures that allow for political interference and politicized decision-making; a structurally embedded lack of transparency; and financial austerity, felt particularly at the municipal level, that shapes design and project delivery models. We trace the impacts thereof through the design, procurement, build-out, and launch of Line 1, and identify alternative approaches from countries outside of the ‘anglosphere’.

Crisis and Governance: Applying a Heterarchical Approach to Canadian Public Sector Challenges

Dana-Marie Ramjit (University of Calgary)

The Canadian public sector operates within a multifaceted multilevel governance framework, wherein various crises—such as economic instability, climate change, and intergovernmental conflicts reveal the inadequacies of conventional hierarchical governance structures. This presentation investigates the applicability of heterarchical governance, defined by distributed authority, multiscalarity, and polycentric collaboration, as a robust framework for enhancing crisis response and governance efficacy. From Canada’s climate policy, the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, to Indigenous self-governance in emergency management, this presentation analyzes how governance networks adapt to crises in the absence of centralized authority. The discussion interprets the benefits of heterarchical models, including heightened flexibility, decentralized decision-making, and innovative problem-solving, while also addressing the challenges they pose, such as policy fragmentation, jurisdictional conflicts, and disparities in crisis response across various governance levels. By integrating insights from networked governance, postinternational theory, and the concept of fragmegration of political authority, this presentation posits that Canada’s crisis governance must transcend rigid federal-provincial hierarchies in favor of adaptive, hybrid governance structures that actively engage non-state actors, Indigenous authorities, and local governments. The presentation concludes with strategic recommendations for institutionalizing collaborative and flexible governance mechanisms, thereby enhancing Canada’s capacity to effectively navigate complex crises in an increasingly uncertain political and economic landscape.

Delegated Power or Hollow Promise? Understanding Skeleton Laws in the Canadian Policy Landscape

Daniel Dickson (Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy) , Louis-Robert Beaulieu-Guay (Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy)

Contemporary understandings of public policy include both what governments do and do not do. This allows that governmental activity can occasionally fall somewhere in between action and inaction.  Such is the case with framework legislation, where policy design is intentionally underspecified to enable the articulation of pertinent policy details by the public service. This is what we call “delegated power” legislation, where, through regulation, bureaucrats add flesh to the bones and themselves articulate, under the supervision of the executive branch, the provisions that will shape the law into public policy.

However, these laws can also deliberately maintain vague and imprecise language. This ambiguity essentially serves to mask a lack of political will and leads, at the implementation level, to weak, hollow policies. These are what we call skeleton laws, where, under the guise of good intentions, the government establishes empty policy designs that are neither developed through regulation nor through the implementation of concrete policies or programs.

Using a mixed-methods approach that combines a case study of the Accessible Canada Act and a text-based analysis of the Canadian regulatory corpus, we seek to gain insight into the purpose and extent of framework legislation in Canada. To this end, we both assess the prevalence of framework legislation over the past 25 years of federal policymaking, and propose a novel schema to distinguish skeleton laws from more effective forms of delegated power legislation.

Digital Participatory Budgeting in Local Governance: The Case of Kırşehir in Turkey

Gözde Atalay (Independent Researcher) , Şaban Ertekin (Associate Professor)

This research focuses on a pilot experience of digital participatory budgeting in Kırşehir Municipality in Turkey using applied action research methodology. Citizens living in Kırşehir municipality used digital voting for the first time for the service prioritization of municipal projects. After the end of the digital voting process, four projects received a total of 277 votes. The total budget amount allocated to the projects was approximately 0.023 (2.3%) of the estimated expenditure amount of the budget of Kırşehir Municipality for 2024. The meaning of this experience, from the perspective of both citizens and public administration, was analyzed qualitatively through semi-structured interviews. Participants on the supply side of local politics stated that the application strengthens budget transparency and accountability, is an innovative governance model in terms of ease of prioritizing services and saving costs, but is vulnerable to the digital divide, lack of infrastructure and the risk of political manipulation. Those on the demand side of local politics mentioned ease of participation, freedom of expression, awareness for participation and insecurities about digitalization. The common recommendation of both groups is to strengthen the legal and institutional infrastructure by preferring a hybrid method in local participation, to establish Research and Development units for municipalities and to approach municipalism in an academic-scientific way. This study is a scientific reference that contributes to the development of digital democracy experience in Turkey.

This doctoral thesis, was funded by the Scientific and Technological Research Institutes of Turkey (Tübitak- 222K054 Project)

Does Diversity Management Inhibit or Enhance Merit Recruitment’s Relationship with Quality Governance? Theoretical Propositions and Empirical Verifications of Public Servants’ Willingness to Report Wronging

Christopher Cooper (University of Ottawa)

This article investigates whether diversity management hinders or enhances the relationship merit recruitment has with a central aspect of good quality governance: public servants’ willingness to report organizational wronging. Using survey data of United States federal public servants, this article investigates whether diversity management practices moderate the relationship merit recruitment has with public servants’ willingness to report wrongdoing observed in one’s workplace. The results from various multivariate regression models show that merit recruitment has a positive association with reporting wrongdoing, regardless of diversity management practises. Moreover, the results from the regression models are consistent when the sample is stratified according to gender and race. 

Governance, Trust, and Farmers’ Willingness to Share Data: Evidence from a Survey Experiment

Salita (Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy, University of Saskatchewan. Salita is a Master of Public Policy (MPP) student at the Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy, University of Saskatchewan. Her MPP dissertation uses an experimental approach to examine farmers' responses to regulatory frameworks governing agricultural big data, focusing on farmers’ trust and willingness to share farm data. Through her research, she is committed to contributing to evidence-based policymaking.) , Dr Yang Yang (Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy, University of Saskatchewan. Dr. Yang Yang is an Associate Professor at the Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy, University of Saskatchewan. Yang’s research focuses mainly on behavioural economics, food economics, experimental economics, and public policy. Yang has extensive experience in exploring and analyzing the framing effects in science communication, conducting experiments with stated preference methods using survey instruments and behavioral experiments. Yang is also knowledgeable in public finance and financial management issues. She has published in the flagship journals in agricultural economics (American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Journal of Agricultural Economics, Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics), a top multidisciplinary policy journal (Food Policy), and top public policy/administration journals (Canadian Journal of Political Science, Canadian Public Administration).)

Abstract

Smart farming technologies generate vast amounts of agricultural data, raising concerns among Canadian farmers about data ownership, privacy, and power imbalances. The lack of robust governance frameworks increases farmers’ reluctance to share data and erodes their trust in the system. This study examines how Canadian farmers respond to different governance models – government command and control, farmer cooperatives, and market-based voluntary approaches – focusing on their willingness to engage with big data analytics platforms and trust in various governance structures.
A pre-registered online survey will collect data from 375 Western Canadian grain farmers, incorporating an experimental component where participants will be randomly assigned to one of four conditions: treatment 1 (government command and control governance), treatment 2 (farmer cooperatives), treatment 3 (market-based voluntary association), and a control condition (no information on governance model is provided). Each treatment will describe the governance dimensions, including governance structure, accountability and transparency, ownership and power, benefits, and downsides, according to its specific governance model.
The study will also collect data on socio-demographics, attitudes toward digital technologies, big data platform usage, risk perception, and ambiguity aversion to better understand factors influencing trust and data-sharing behaviour. The survey is currently being finalized, with data collection set to begin in mid-March. Our findings will inform evidence-based policymaking by identifying governance structures that address farmers’ concerns, build trust, and encourage participation in data-driven farm management.

Governing in Evermore Turbulent Environments: Canada in Comparative Perspective

Jonathan Craft and Evert Lindquist (University of Victoria)

Please consult the attached document.

Indigenous Reconciliation and Reform: Creating Effective Change Conditions

Andrea L K Johnston and Robert P. Shepherd (Carleton University)

Please consult the attached document.

Making Sense of Canada’s Equalization Transfer Program: A View from the Provinces

Ian Roberge (York University) , Mirusha Ramaj (York University)

Canada’s Equalization Transfer Program (ETP), while technical, is highly politicized. This paper is interested in how provinces have addressed and framed their position on equalization to advance their interest. How has the political discourse of provinces on equalization evolved over the recent past? We argue that provincial discourse is intertwined with the federation’s political dynamics. Equalization is alternatively presented as a pillar of national solidarity or as an unjust penalty for prosperity, depending on who is telling the story. This study examines how political actors in Ontario, Alberta and Newfoundland and Labrador have constructed and deployed competing narratives around the ETP to advance their regional objectives and influence public perception from 2006 to 2024. Using qualitative discourse analysis, the research analyzes legislative debates (Hansard), budget speeches, and media coverage from both national and provincial outlets to identify the rhetorical strategies in play. Through thematic coding, four dominant narratives emerge: fairness and equity; regional autonomy and identity; economic efficiency and dependency; and intergovernmental competition and solidarity. While Alberta and Newfoundland and Labrador often invoke equalization as emblematic of regional grievances and intergovernmental rivalry, Ontario’s narrative stands apart. For Ontario, the province’s transition from donor to recipient status was less about long-standing grievance and more a moment of an unsettling indicator of declining economic health. The findings suggest that equalization debates are not just about the money; rather they represent competing visions of federalism, fairness, and the struggle for influence in a decentralized and fractured federation.  

Monographie de l’évaluation des programmes dans le secteur public en République Démocratique du Congo : histoire, enjeux et financement.

Joel Lisenga Bolia (CENTRE D'ETUDES EN GOUVERNANCE) , SAMUEL BATUMIKE (CENTRE D'ETUDES EN GOUVERNANCE) , ERIC CHAMPAGNE (Directeur Centre d'études en gouvernance/ Université d'Ottawa)

L’entrée de la RD Congo en programmes avec ses partenaires financiers notamment la Banque mondiale au début de l’année 2000 et le changement de l’ordre constitutionnel en 2006, ont entrainé des reconfigurations majeures au sein de l’appareil étatique congolais. Dans un contexte marqué par l’exacerbation de la pauvreté, l’inefficacité de l’aide au développement et la gestion opaque des ressources publiques, ces reconfigurations s’imposaient non seulement comme la meilleure voie de sortie après plusieurs années d’isolement mais aussi comme un moyen de s’aligner sur paradigme de la bonne gouvernance. Dans cette optique, inscrire l’action gouvernementale dans une perspective de suivi et d’évaluation contribuait à la démocratisation de l’action publique par l’amélioration de la performance de son administration publique et la mise en discussion des politiques publiques.

Ainsi, si la décennie 2000 a été décisive dans le processus d’institutionnalisation de l’évaluation au regard de la prolifération des politiques néolibérales perçues comme alternative à la mauvaise gouvernance et une opportunité pour la reconstruction du pays, elle ne constitue nullement la première tentative de réforme évaluative dans le contexte congolais. Il se pose la question de savoir comment et quand la RDCongo est-elle entrée en contact avec l’instrument d’évaluation? Quels ont été les effets de différentes vagues d’évaluation sur la gestion des projets et programmes en RDCongo? Face à ces questionnements, cette recherche présente une monographie de l’évaluation en RDC comme moyen de saisir certaines péripéties de la gouvernance de l’État congolais et par ricochet, de contribuer au renouvellement des recherches empiriques sur l’État congolais.

Responsabilisation et la reddition des comptes dans le cadre de la décentralisation financière en République Démocratique du Congo : entre « blame avoiding » et « credit claiming »

SAMUEL BATUMIKE ET ERIC CHAMPAGNE (CENTRE D'ETUDES EN GOUVERNANCE)

L’adoption de Constitution de 2006 par la RDCongo a constitué un véritable tournant décisif dans sa gouvernance politique et financière. Elle marque le début d’un processus de démocratisation et un effort de s’aligner sur les nouvelles perspectives de la mondialisation. L’introduction des instruments de la bonne gouvernance notamment l’institutionnalisation des élections comme d’accession au pouvoir et la décentralisation comme mode de gestion de pouvoir s’inscrit dans cette démarche. Par ces instruments, les provinces et les entités locales recouvrent leur autonomie politique, administrative et financière. Ainsi, responsabiliser les décideurs locaux pour les rendre plus redevables s’érige à une alternative face à l’opacité dans la gestion publique et constitue un moyen de rapprochement entre gouvernants et gouvernés. Par conséquent, il s’agit d’un autre moyen d’ouvrir la boite noire de l’État pour en saisir les mécanismes de mise à l’agenda et de mise en œuvre de politiques publiques dans un contexte de décentralisation.

Après plus de deux décennies, la littérature sur la décentralisation en RDCongo met en exergue une certaine hybridité dans la gouvernance des provinces et des entités locales. Cette situation a-t-elle entaché les mécanismes de responsabilisation et de reddition des comptes? L’hybridation de la réforme n’est-elle pas un moyen d’éviter le blâme et de demeurer en même temps crédible devant ses partenaires politiques et sociaux? Notre étude de cas portant sur la ville de Kinshasa souligne démontre que nombreux facteurs notamment la redistribution de pouvoir et des ressources réduisent les marges de manœuvre des provinces d’exercer leurs responsabilités et d’en rendre compte.

Spending and Strategic Reviews: How Do Crises Matter?

Evert A. Lindquist and Robert P. Shepherd (University of Victoria)

Please consult the attached document.

Sustainable Healthcare Supply Networks in Northern Canadian Communities: A Longitudinal Investigation Proposal

Julie Ricard (McGill University) , Martin Bader (McGill University) , Hamid Etemad (McGill University) , Hamed Motaghi (Université du Québec en Outaouais) , David Carriere-Acco (McGill University) , John Gradek (McGill University) , Faranak Firoozi (Institut universitaire de gériatrie de Montréal du CIUSSS Centre-Sud-de-l'Île-de-Montréal)

A disparity exists in healthcare services between the centrally located Canadian regions and remote areas. Inequitable healthcare access has long-term consequences. Suboptimal governance structures can lead to inequity in policy applications for vulnerable populations. Remote communities experience healthcare supply network challenges from geographic isolation, limited infrastructure, and extreme weather conditions. Geographical positioning induces network development; isolation influences the formation and evolution of supply networks. A significant rise in healthcare digital technology has been observed since 2013. Even if First Nation communities have taken constructive action, critical technological advances are yet to be fully synchronized. Although research is conducted on healthcare supply networks in Africa, Australia, Bangladesh, and India, Canada-based research remains scarce. To overcome challenges, researchers have identified opportunities: i) local production and circular economy, ii) more active collaborations between levels of government, and local communities,  iii) private sectors, and investments in digital and satellite infrastructures. We aim to develop knowledge and theory on how the healthcare supply networks in Northern Quebec’s remote communities can evolve to address timely access to service and quality of care. This project will examine network development using multi-layered shared governance to address healthcare’s social challenges.  We are developing a protocol for a longitudinal embedded case study and collecting preliminary data via public policies and documents. We developed three sub-questions: How have collaborations between governments, private sector organizations, and local communities evolved? How are new technologies, such as AI and industry 5.0 technologies involved? How have grassroots, circular economy initiatives, and local projects evolved?

Understanding Multilevel Governance as Quiet Administrative Transboundary Leadership: The Case of Canada’s Agricultural Partnership Frameworks

Charles Conteh (Brock University)

The main objective of the proposed paper is to address the following question: How do federal and multitiered systems adapt their institutional infrastructure and processes to accommodate the imperatives of policy design and implementation that reconcile the perennial tensions between integration and differentiation?  To answer this question, the discussion will draw insights from the concept of multilevel governance (MLG) as a lens for understanding the mechanisms by which intergovernmental framework agreements are designed and implemented in otherwise fractious political environments.  The discussion will be premised on the assertion that traditional constructs of federalism, emphasizing high-level political forums among the orders of government, no longer offer meaningful understanding of the practical workings of multitiered systems dealing with the growing complexity and speed of policy problems.  The paper will shift the focus of analysis from the political to the administrative, shedding light on how public managers quietly pursue transboundary collective action even in the face of often contentious intergovernmental political posturing. Empirically, the paper will examine the case of Canada’s multi-year intergovernmental Agricultural Policy Framework (APF) agreements jointly designed by the country’s federal, provincial, and territorial governments and delivered in partnership with a constellation of nonstate actors. The paper will conclude with some inferences from the case study about the political, institutional, organizational and jurisdictional mechanisms of policy development and program design and delivery in multitiered polities. More importantly,  it will highlight some theoretical, conceptual and practical implications for public administration in federal systems navigating increasing complexity.

Accountability for Environmental Performance: Does Having a Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development Matter?

Catherine Liston-Heyes (University of Sussex) , Luc Juillet (University of Ottawa)

As part of their functions, Supreme Audit Institutions audit public programs, including those seeking to protect the environment, for value-for-money. In the last twenty years, environmental performance audits have become more important to this work. In 1995, Canada became a pioneer in this area by creating a Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development (CESD), located within the Auditor General’s Office but with separate statutory mandate and authorities to audit the environmental performance of federal programs.

Does having a dedicated parliamentary officer focused on environmental performance lead to material differences in how environmental auditing is used? Should the environment be treated as a separate issue with independent oversight mechanisms? At a time when the world is facing a climate/biodiversity crisis and seeking solutions to close the “implementation gap” in environmental policy, a better understanding of these questions could be of value to academics and practitioners.

The study explores these questions by comparing the environmental audits produced by the UK’s National Audit Office, which does not have a dedicated environmental commissioner but does environmental performance audits as part of its mandate, with those completed by CESD over the last twenty years. More specifically, after analyzing the differences in institutional frameworks, we compare the number of reports as well as the audit recommendations contained in the reports of both agencies (UK n=650; Canada n=800). While we document differences on several dimensions, our particular focus is on the extent to which each office focuses on values of economy, efficiency, and performance.

Advancing critical discourse analysis of motivated criticism in Indigenous consultations: when rules make Indigenous disagreement costly

Oxana Pimenova (University of Windsor)

In Canada, governments must consult Indigenous communities on resource projects. When an administrative agency believes in a project’s necessity, it has the institutional power to control the argument exchanges via imposing authority rules that define a reasoning capacity to argue for and against a project. For example, in defining evidence availability/relevance and allocating the burdens of proof in consultations, rules can make it easy for an agency not to engage with Indigenous arguers but rebut their arguments with an Argument Continuity. Argument Continuity is a set of arguments and counterarguments repeatedly produced and reproduced by the same dominant arguer through an adversarial reasoning process to dismiss unfavorable arguments without considering their merits. In a distorted reasoning context of Indigenous consultations, Argument Continuity traces the effects of institutional power by connecting argument, counterarguments, and reasoning practices by an agency to the resources/incentives given by authority rules, reconstructing the motivated criticism in the sequential development of reasoning goals, practices, and outcomes (with the help of the process-tracing method and the logic of increasing returns). The paper tests the sequence of Argument Continuity in two institutionally diverse contexts of Indigenous consultations over the Trans Mountain and Mackenzie Valley pipelines. The institutional analysis reveals how the rules of consultations constraining/advancing the reasoning capacity of Indigenous arguers to resist the project made it easier for the officials to employ motivated criticism in the Trans Mountain case and epistemic vigilance in the Mackenzie Valley case, responding to Indigenous concerns with or without Argument Continuities.

Can Multilevel Water Governance reduce water insecurity for Indigenous Peoples in Canada?

Luke Boal (University of Ottawa) , Eric Champagne (University of Ottawa)

Water insecurity is a significant issue faced by Indigenous peoples in Canada due to the legacy and ongoing impacts of colonialism. Governance plays a key role in establishing water security and the sustainable development of water resources.  For these reasons, this case study examines whether using a multilevel governance approach could reduce water insecurity faced by Indigenous peoples in Canada. To do so, the research studies the Northwest Territories Water Stewardship Strategy that implemented a multilevel water governance approach. Information collected on the case is sourced from a detailed review of academic and grey literature, which included ninety articles and documents in the scoping review. An analytical framework for multilevel climate governance structured the analysis of results. Findings suggest that multilevel governance can potentially reduce water insecurity for Indigenous peoples in Canada if the right conditions exist. These elements include incorporating traditional knowledge, Indigenous leadership, and Indigenous community-based monitoring into water strategies. We argue that a collaborative, multilevel approach between western and traditional knowledge that informs decision-making, can contribute to the decolonization of water governance, and can reduce the water insecurity faced by Indigenous peoples in Canada.  Furthermore, as traditional guardians of the lands and waters, the empowerment of Indigenous peoples through multilevel governance could potentially assist with environmental conservation.

Canadian Public Sector Reform: Moving Towards a Neo-Weberian State?

Evert Lindquist (University of Victoria) , Jonathan Craft (University of Toronto)

Recent turbulence in governing environments has reinvigorated big questions in the field about the efficacy of various public governance approaches for more effective government. This article examines the applicability of the most recent versions of the Neo Weberian State (NWS) approach to the Canadian case (Bouckaert 2023). Our analysis reveals that Canada does not fit the NWS approach well. Canada’s decentralized federal system and indigenous governance imperatives challenge the hierarchy essential to the NWS. A modest reformer, Canada’s public management reform trajectory has not yielded many of the elements stipulated by the NWS. Canada remains characterized by partial and often asymmetrical incrementalism, which we argue points to defined hybrid, pragmatic, and negotiated (HPN) approach. However, looking at Canada through the lens of NWS raises important questions and considerations for the future directions of Canadian public management, and identifies further opportunities to sharpen the NWS approach.

Climate Policy-Making and Governance: Towards a Framework for Appraising Canada’s Progress Towards a Carbon Neutral Economy

Tamara Krawchenko (University of Victoria) , Evert Lindquist (University of Victoria)

There has been a rapidly growing literature on climate policy instruments and policy mixes, frameworks for climate policy-making, and pathways for transition and transformations of economies and societies towards carbon neutrality by 2050. Most of this work focuses on greenhouse emissions and gaps in meeting targets, but less on the governance shifts in support of different policy mixes that have been adopted, that need to be sustained, and built upon by national and sub-national governments. This paper sets out a framework for appraising the trajectories, progress, gaps, and slippage of the Canadian government and sub-national governments based on the 440 Megatonnes database of the Canadian Climate Institute and additional case study analysis.

Electric Federalism: Provincial Autonomy and Wind Policy Designs in Alberta and Nova Scotia

Luc Juillet (University of Ottawa)

In recent months, Alberta’s strong reaction to the anticipated federal Clean Electricity Regulation, including its stated intent to use its Alberta Sovereignty Act, has made renewable policy a highly contentious political issue and depicts provinces as barriers to the growth of renewables. Yet, the need for an energy transition has been challenging provinces to transform their electricity systems for many years and many have built significant wind power capacity, including Alberta and Nova Scotia, which are leading the country in this area. In this perspective, the ability of the federal government to respect and leverage the strengths of provincial policy designs while encouraging further action will be central to a successful national energy transition. In this regard, it is striking how Nova Scotia, which significantly increased its wind capacity in the recent past, has adopted a more cooperative stance toward federal intervention.

To explain this difference in provincial positions on federal electricity policy and ascertain the challenges represented by the development of a coherent national policy framework, the paper compares the history, framing and design of wind policies in Alberta and Nova Scotia over the last fifteen years. Drawing from policy documents, interviews and a content analysis of regional media (Edmonton Journal, Calgary Herald, Chronicle Herald, Saltwire), we argue that the provinces’ wind policies differ markedly due the structure of their electricity markets, dominant party ideology and problem framing, and that these differences in policy design are currently making alignment with the emerging national policy framework more difficult for Alberta.

Emerging Practices for Collaboration in Service of a Climate Resilient Health System

Amy Zidulka (Royal Roads) , Ingrid Kajzer Mitchell (Royal Roads)

It is generally accepted that grand challenges like climate change cannot be addressed by a single organization and thus require multi-organizational arrangements across governmental jurisdictions and sectoral boundaries. However, such arrangements are difficult to achieve and require the development of collaborative capacity at the individual, organizational, and system levels. In the health system context, public organizations have come to recognize the need to work collaboratively with multiple actors to foster climate resilient health systems, which can anticipate, respond to, and adapt to climate-related events (WHO, 2015).

This presentation draws on findings from a study funded by the British Columbia Ministry of Health (Canada) aimed at identifying emerging  practices in fostering inter-organizational collaboration for the purpose of building the foundation of a climate resilient health system. It reports on results from interviews with 17 key informants from Canada, United States and Australia, involved in collaborative initiatives; insights gained from a Knowledge Exchange Event; and a review of relevant documents.  Analysis suggests that a dominant influence on how collaborative initiatives progressed and what outcomes they achieved was the newness of the climate-health intersection as an area of focus.  The climate-health intersection could thus be understood to have low field coherence (Gray & Purdy, 2018), suggesting that it still lacks general agreement around how a problem should be defined, who should be invited to collaborative tables, and what a legitimate response might be. This low coherence impacted all aspects of the collaborative endeavour, including the competencies required of collaborative leaders.

Hirschman 2.0 or What Makes for a Good Policy Advice System? A Theory of Policy Advice System Quality

Migone, Andrea (Toronto Metropolitan University) , Howlett, Michael (Simon Fraser University)

Not everyone’s ideas count equally in terms of influencing and informing policy design and instrument choices. As the literature on policy advice has shown, policy advice arises from many different actors interacting with each other often over relatively long timeframes. Actors within these ‘policy advisory systems’ interact within the confines of a set of political and economic institutions and governing norms and each brings with it different interests, ideas and resources. Studying who these actors are, how they act and how this affects the overall nature of the advice system is a critical aspect of current public policy research but not all of these elements have been equally well conceptualized or studied, especially concerns around the quality of policy advice emerging from these systems. In this article, the general nature of policy advisory systems is set out, their major components described and a model of individual and organizational behavior within them outlined based on a modification of the Exit, Voice, Loyalty rubric of Albert Hirschman. The article shows how aggregated individual organizational behaviour along the lines suggested by Hirschman can over time result in very different kinds of advice being provided by an advisory system, with predictable consequences for its nature and quality.

How do Canadian Parliamentarians use performance information generated by the bureaucracy?

Joe Faragone (Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat)

There is a vast literature that examines performance measurement , especially the technical aspect.  However, the literature’s examination of how performance information is actually used has been less explored.  There is an implied assumption that the performance information generated by the bureaucracy’s performance measurement system contributes towards legislators carrying out their roles and obligations.  Using Canada as a case study, this research will explore, “how do Parliamentarians use performance information generated by the bureaucracy?”  This is an important question in that performance information in addition to being essential for accountability has other purposes such as improving policy and program, increasing the understanding of issues and challenges, and mobilizing citizens.

Les défis de l’institutionnalisation de l’évaluation de programmes dans les pays en développement : le cas d’Haïti

Pauliana Borgella (University of Ottawa) , Eric Champagne (University of Ottawa)

Cette communication traite de l’impact du contexte organisationnel sur les réformes administratives en Haïti en utilisant l’exemple du processus d’institutionnalisation de l’évaluation des programmes. L’état actuel de l’institutionnalisation de l’évaluation des programmes en Haïti montre que le concept en est encore à un stade de compréhension conceptuelle et normative, et qu’il n’y a pas d’environnement habilitant pour faciliter son appropriation institutionnelle. Notre recherche soutient que le contexte est une variable clé à considérer lors de la prise de décisions des réformes du secteur public puisqu’il peut affecter les processus d’institutionnalisation au sein de l’administration publique, en particulier dans des pays comme Haïti, où les organisations gouvernementales ont peu de capacité opérationnelle. Sur le plan théorique et conceptuel, cette analyse combine la théorie institutionnelle et l’analyse de la culture organisationnelle. La question de recherche est la suivante : quels sont les freins institutionnels et organisationnels à l’intégration de l’évaluation de programmes dans les pratiques de gestion publique à Haïti? Sur le plan méthodologique, la collecte de données s’appuie sur trois sources : la revue de la littérature, l’analyse de contenu, des entretiens semi-dirigées et un questionnaire plus fermé portant sur la culture organisationnelle pour expliquer les obstacles à l’intégration de l’évaluation des programmes en Haïti. Les résultats de la recherche révèlent qu’il y a un manque de clarté considérable dans le cadre juridique et réglementaire de l’évaluation de programmes, des conflits de rôles dans son organisation, des ressources nationales dédiées insuffisantes et l’absence de mécanismes pour la professionnalisation au niveau local.

Municipalities Operating at the Frontline of Canadian Federalism: Multilevel Governance

Charles Conteh (Professor, Political Science, Brock University)

Local and regional municipalities are at the frontline of Canada’s effort to tackle the challenges of breakneck technological changes, resource scarcity, demographic shifts, and the mounting ecological crisis of climate change.  Are municipalities, with their seemingly constrained jurisdictional autonomy and limited resources, standing at the edge of the cliff?  Evidence points to cities and regions across the country deploying various innovative initiatives over the past two decades in responding to current and emergent challenges.  The proposed paper examines these trends in Canada, focusing on how several midsized regions across the country are adapting to the growing complexity of economic development and environmental sustainability by working across jurisdictional boundaries.  Drawing insights from the concept of multilevel governance (MLG) as a framework for thinking about policy alignment across jurisdictions, the paper will investigate the emergent institutional, structural, and procedural mechanisms by which local and regional entities are navigating the currents of change in Canada’s multi-tiered system.  The MLG literature calls attention to the fluid mechanisms by which lower-tier jurisdictions like municipalities interact and engage in joint policy action with upper-tier jurisdictions.  It also sheds light on the porous boundaries of local and regional governance at the strategic interface between the state, market and society.  The paper concludes with practical and theoretical implications for thinking about local and regional policy innovation and governance in the context of 21st-century Canadian federalism.

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Navigating the AI Frontier in Policy Education: Insights from a Briefing Note Workshop

Justin Longo (University of Regina) , Martin Boucher (University of Saskatchewan) , Michelle Prytula (University of Saskatchewan) , Bruno Dupeyron (University of Regina)

This presentation will reflect on a recent workshop conducted at the Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy (JSGS), focusing on integrating generative AI tools, especially ChatGPT, in policy education and briefing note writing. The workshop aimed at understanding the potential of AI in enhancing a core skill for policy students: writing briefing notes. We will share the structure, content, and outcomes of the workshop, highlighting how it addressed the use of generative AI for analysis, synthesizing information, and aiding in the drafting of briefing notes. We will discuss the role of generative AI in supplementing routine tasks like compiling background information and analysis while emphasizing the irreplaceable human elements crucial to policy analysis such as critical thinking, stakeholder engagement, and alignment with political objectives. The presentation will address the pedagogical issues explored during the workshop, including examining the ethical implications and the balance between AI tools and traditional policy writing skills. By reflecting on the experiences and insights gained from this workshop at JSGS, the presentation will offer insight for educators and policy professionals on adapting to the evolving technological landscape for policy training and practice.

Of Intermediaries and Guns: Lobbying in Canadian Military Procurement

Bryan Evans (Toronto Metropolitan University) , Howlett, Alexander (University of Canada West) , Chen David (University of Toronto) , Howlett, Michael (Simon Fraser University) , Migone, Andrea (Toronto Metropolitan University)

Military procurement represents both a strategically and financially critical step in modern states involving tens of billions of dollars in investment over decades of development and delivery, draw large amounts of public attention and are generally predicated on complex industrial and investment agreements along with needing to satisfy tactical and strategic requirements in a complex set of relations among multiple actors. Yet, defense procurement lacks an in-depth analysis of its lobbying dimension. We utilize the Commissioner of Lobbying of Canada’s lobbying registrar dataset to develop insights who the major lobbying actors are (and their career backgrounds), who in government, and which departments of government they engage with, and on which issues.

Political Accountability in an Evolving Municipal Landscape

Ian Stedman (York University)

This presentation builds upon Arbuckle’s “”Held to Account? An Analysis of Political Accountability in Ontario’s Municipal Sector” (2018), which sought to answer the question “Does hiring an integrity commissioner improve political accountability at the municipal level in Ontario?” The presentation will look at legislative action in the municipal political accountability policy area since 2019, including the mandatory requirement of all Ontario municipalities to have a code of conduct as well as access to an integrity commissioner. It will also outline results of the analysis of municipal council decisions related to integrity commissioner investigations and recommendations, as well as comparing 2018 and 2022 municipal election results for elected officials who have been investigated for code of conduct violations. A comparison of similar data from 2014 to 2018 will also be included in the presentation. The presentation will conclude with observations on the relevance of the data to the current municipal political accountability environment.

The names/institutional affiliation of the researcher(s):

David Arbuckle, Executive Director, Association of Municipal Managers, Clerks and Treasures of Ontario

Zachary Spicer, Associate Professor, School of Public Policy and Administration, Head of New College, York University

Ian Stedman, Assistant Professor, Canadian Public Law and Governance, York University

Politicization of government agencies in the Canadian federal bureaucracy

Carey Doberstein (UBC)

Public Perception of Municipal Finance and Support to Potential Reforms: Evidence from a Canadian Survey Experiment

Clinton Mahoney (Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy, University of Saskatchewan)

In the intricate and evolving landscape of municipal finance, local governments are expected to handle more demands and challenges today than they did yesterday. Despite this growing demand for enhanced public services, municipal governments find themselves constrained by the increasing costs associated with service provision. Meeting the challenge of maintaining or improving public services necessitates additional sources of public revenues. While municipal governments have at their disposal instruments like raising property taxes or user fees, implementing such measures is perceived by politicians as politically sensitive.

To contribute valuable insights to the understanding of the relationship between voters’ behaviour and opinions regarding municipal public finance, this study will conduct an online survey involving a representative sample of Canadian adults (target sample size = 2,000) that includes a behavioural experiment. The survey seeks to uncover patterns in Canadians’ utilization of public services and their preferences concerning municipal finance options. The behavioural experiment will examine how different communication strategies influence voter behaviour and their willingness to support reforms in property tax policies. Specifically, we will randomly assign respondents to one of experimentally designed information conditions, including the control condition (no information exposure), the gain- and the loss-framed conditions that explain the rationales for proposed property tax changes. We then ask respondents to rate their willingness to support such property tax changes and their voting behaviours.

The findings of this study will inform future development of property tax policies and provide valuable guidance to local politicians in effectively communicating proposed property tax changes.

Public Sector Legitimacy, Minority Protections, and “Democratic” Accountability

Kathy Brock (Queen's University, School of Policy Studies) , Andrea Migone (TMU, Politics and Public Administration)

Using a normative framework, this paper explores the possibility that an increasing focus on minority protection coupled with a strong political agenda towards the promotion of those protections in law and administrative practices – often with the intent of ‘locking-in’ these gains because of opposition to these protections by parts of society and of the political opposition – may have a negative effect on the perception of the ability of the state to deliver on a ‘fair’ method for the representation and resolution of contrasting public goods.

Two conflicting images of ‘democratic process’ are presented in these situations. One, there is a ‘general’ notion of liberal democracy where minority rights are protected but tempered by majority rule. Here, an important corollary (especially in Westminster/White Hall models) stresses the relevance of the majority will as the basis of political legitimacy for elected officials and as a tool to contain authoritarian tendencies.

The second image of liberal democracy is evoked by opposition parties and groups over proposals to ‘lock-in’ processes for minority protections. This image stresses the contradiction between majority rule and the top-down imposition of extra protections for minorities.

In some cases, this narrative can reduce the perceived legitimacy of a political party and a public sector associated with the party decisions. The specific nexus between political accountability and liberal democracy must practically balance the sometimes dissonant couplet of minority protections and democratic accountability or both political and public sector legitimacy suffer as traditional public sector values are questioned.

Public Servants’ Attitudes on Democracy and Perception of their Role within the System through the Lens of Diversity

Isabelle Caron (Dalhousie University) , Karine Levasseur (University of Manitoba) , Andrea Rounce (University of Manitoba)

Our work connects the literature on representative bureaucracy with that on democratic governance, using a survey of 1,000 Canadian public servants enquiring how different groups of public servants see their roles in democracy. We assess the impact these understandings have on applying values and ethics in public service, managing relationships between elected officials and public servants, and managing a diverse workforce in the public sector.

We found that public servants are generally satisfied with Canada’s democratic system of government and strongly support the traditional relationship between public servants and elected officials. In addition, public servants still adhere to the traditional role of impartial officials in the Westminster tradition (Boyd et al, 2023). These results reveal a solid attachment to traditional values related to the democratic system.

Over the past 40 years, representative bureaucracy has become entrenched in Canadian public administration and it has raised several debates, including the fine line between active representation and the abandonment of administrative neutrality and distance (Lim, 2006; Groeneveld & Van de Walle, 2010).

Thus, we asked : Do the identity factors specific to public servants shape their conception of the democratic system and their perceived role(s) within it?

Initial findings show that various diversity criteria shape some components of public servants’ conception of the democratic system and their perceived role within it in some surprising ways. There are some marked differences regarding perceptions of core components of Westminster-style governance and the advocacy role of public servants.

Renewable Energy Co-operatives and the Role of Government in Accelerating the Energy Transition

Martin Boucher (University of Saskatchewan) , Marc-Andre Pigeon (University of Saskatchewan)

Canada has set a target to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. One of the paths to reach this target is through the accelerated adoption of renewable energy technologies..  Renewable Energy Co-operatives (REC) – a growing and important part of Europe’s 2050 transition strategy – emerge as one of the opportunities for Canadians to engage and participate in a local and democratic form of energy production that could help meet Canada’s objective.  Drawing on semi-structured interviews with policymakers and findings from a census of Canada’s fledgling REC sector, we suggest however that Canada’s REC sector faces significant policy barriers, including notably a disposition amongst policymakers to judge community-led initiatives as high-risk, low reward.

Stopping a Deposit Run: Evidence from a Survey Experiment on Differential Messaging Strategies

Marc-Andre Pigeon (University of Saskatchewan) , Yang Yang (University of Saskatchewan)

Financial sector policymakers in Canada and elsewhere are increasingly investing in communication strategies to support their policy objectives, a recognition that effective communications can serve as a policy instrument. Using a survey experiment methodology, we explore the impact of five communication strategies, each modelled after a real-world example, that have been used to stop the panicked outflow of deposits arising from a crisis of confidence in banking. We further explore the differential effects of these communications strategies on U.S. and Canadian banking customers and contrast the impact of these messaging strategies on bank customers versus members of financial co-operatives (i.e., credit unions).  The results of the experiment provide important evidence for policymakers in determining optimal communication strategies in times of crisis.

The Devil is in the Details: Using Machine-Learning to Scrutinize “State-of-the-Art” Language Models’ Responses to Public Inquiries across 3 Continents

Jean-Francois Savard (ENAP) , Stany Nzobonimpa (ENAP)

This research investigates bias, quality, and coherence of “state-of-the-art” Artificial Intelligence (AI) driven Language Models. In this project iteration, the researchers will evaluate OpenAI’s ChatGPT model and its responses to a diverse group of respondents spanning North America, Europe, and Africa. In an era where AI-driven language models like ChatGPT are increasingly influencing decision-making and shaping opinions, it is crucial to assess their advice and guidance, particularly on issues of public interest.
The study will employ a non-representative large sample of participants drawn from various contexts across the selected continents. The participants’ diverse geographical and cultural backgrounds from three continents will provide a rich and varied dataset that will be leveraged in a rigorous comparative analysis. The study will use advanced machine-learning techniques to assess the coherence and topical orientation of ChatGPT’s advice on the selected topics across the three continents. Comparative analysis will help identify regional variations in the model’s responses. Furthermore, the research will integrate theoretical insights from the field of public administration to provide a comprehensive evaluation of ChatGPT’s guidance. By scrutinizing how the language model navigates the nuances and complexities of these topics, the study aims to shed light on the potential societal impact of AI-driven chatbots on the decision-making processes of the respondents. The findings will inform the development of AI-driven conversational agents and offer valuable insights for policymakers, educators, and society.

The Pivot: Explaining the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada’s Re-Ordering of Its Priorities

Ian Roberge (York University) , Heather McKeen-Edwards (Bishop's University)

This paper contributes to the literature on organizational, policy, and regulatory change by focusing on the history of the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC). The FCAC is an interesting case study because it always had a mandate composed of both regulatory and non-regulatory objectives. For the first decade and a half of its history, the FCAC prioritized consumer literacy for which its actions have been highly praised and downplayed its regulatory obligations on consumer protection for which it has often been found wanting. With the publication of its updated strategic plan in 2016, the FCAC reordered its priorities clearly establishing consumer protection as its primary objective relegating financial literacy to second place. How and why did the FCAC reorder its priorities within its mandate? What are the key factors that led to this pivot? Through a detailed analysis of the FCAC’s history, we argue that new leadership coupled with public scrutiny were essential in turning things around; most notably, the appointment of a new commissioner in 2015 served as a critical juncture that allowed the organization to reorder its priorities. Subsequently, through legislative and regulatory changes, the FCAC acquired new enforcement authority cementing its pivot to consumer protection. While findings on the importance of leadership for successful organizations are not new, this paper provides a concrete example of the effects of strong leadership in fostering change.

The Value Proposition for Teaching Ethics in Our Programs

Robert Shepherd (Carlerton University) , Evert Lindquist (University of Victoria)

This panel would bring together colleagues who regularly give ethics courses as part of their graduate programs. The panel would address the question: Is giving a course on ethics in government and administration requiring a change in approach, since the 1995 Tait Report? In other words, have our approaches to teaching ethics shifted over time? If so, in what ways, and have our courses kept pace with these changes?

Given the various and more frequent public service breaches in ethics, are our courses conveying concepts or engaging in conversations that are relevant to this moment or are we deferring to more traditional concepts and issues? Cases such as the current ArriveCan app debacle (as shown in the recent Auditor General’s report) are highlighting what appear to be serious problems of management that stem not only from the lack of due diligence and sound process, but a lack of ethical judgement and leadership. The Siddiqui case in PCO shows not only a lack of ethical judgement, but a complete breach of the public trust. What has changed (if anything) in the ethical landscape? Are our courses picking up these changes?

This panel discussion would discuss the challenges of giving graduate courses in ethics for our programs, whether they are relevant to the needs of public service today, and what the CAPPA community can collectively do to make these courses salient. It is anticipated that highlighting some course outlines may be useful as a way into some of these questions.

TRANSFORMING GOVERNANCE FOR REALIZING THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS (SDG’S)

Ahmed Isa Waziri (Kano State Polytechnic)

This paper studies how the patterns and styles of governance changes from normal practice to a modernized style that will suits the attainment of the SDG’s. The objectives of this paper are to study and analyses the process of change of governance from usual practice to a anew style that will favor the realization of SDG’s and to identify major obstacles that will provide resistance to the new style. The methodology was drowned from primary and secondary data. Constructed questionnaires were distributed and oral interviews were conducted and the data collected were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM) AMOS, 21.0. The study found that most of national governments lack policies that are deliberately created to provide support for the realization of SDG’s. The research also discovered that national governments lack implementation agencies that contain experts with the skills and knowledge of developmental projects. Most of government’s policy machineries make mistakes of mixing the SDG’s with the regular national goals which are usually obtained in regular ministries. In the end, the study recommends that for proper realization of SDG’s, national governments should create sub policies that will promote the realization of SDG’s. The research also recommends that the national governments should create new implementation agencies that can train experts on developmental programmes. These agencies will work hand in hand with government in collaboration with private sectors towards the realization of SDG’s.

KeyWords: Governance, Realization, SDG’s, Transforming.

Transition Binders and Open Government: Comparing the Accessibility and Content of British Columbia, Manitoba, and Canada

Madison Olynyk (University of Victoria) , Walter Lepore (University of Victoria) , Evert Lindquist (University of Victoria)

Few observers are aware that three Canadian governments publicly shared the transition documents prepared by their respective public services in anticipation of the election of new governments. This seems an exceptional development by Canadian standards. In addition to drawing attention to this sharing of information, this paper seeks to compare the accessibility and content of the transition documents recently shared by the governments of British Columbia, Manitoba, and Canada from 2020 and 2022. This paper will consider the relevance of and function of these documents with respect to accountability vs. raising general awareness of the challenges and complexity awaiting new governments. It will also consider whether publishing transition documents make up for the precipitous decline in the quality of reporting on the structure and programs of departments, ministries, and agencies. Finally, we consider  whether this practice is sustainable and ought to be diffused to other governments.